What is full spectrum lighting

[reefchi]

I’m looking to better understand what is full spectrum lighting. Does anyone have a BRS video or articles that explains it?

Is full spectrum a combination of all colors at a certain ratio? Or is white lighting considered full spectrum.

I’ve AI Hydra saxby preset or Radion presets because that’s what everyone recommends but I want to better under what full spectrum is.

Thanks

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I’m looking to better understand what is full spectrum lighting. Does anyone have a BRS video or articles that explains it?

Is full spectrum a combination of all colors at a certain ratio? Or is white lighting considered full spectrum.

I’ve AI Hydra saxby preset or Radion presets because that’s what everyone recommends but I want to better under what full spectrum is.

Thanks

It means different things to different people, but most often it means a fairly white light.

 

[reefchi]

Thanks for the reply. For example if I use a kessil and only use the whites with maybe a little bit UV red and green. Is that considered full spectrum?

 

[zheka757]

day light color is full spectrum! but not colorful enough in reef tanks, that why most people use blue lights for POP in colors

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Thanks for the reply. For example if I use a kessil and only use the whites with maybe a little bit UV red and green. Is that considered full spectrum?

I cannot really answer that, as again, it's purely an opinion. But actinic bulbs, and the very heavy blue lighting some use wouldn't generally quality.

 

[buruskeee]

It means different things to different people, but most often it means a fairly white light.

This exactly. And for the most part, folks who use the phrase “full spectrum” often don’t know what they’re trying to convey.

In WWC’s lighting tutorial, for example, they say they use “full spectrum” for half the day and then blues the rest of the day - what they’re actually saying is they’re using 100% all channels of their Radion Blues, which is like a 14K spectrum and not “100 CRI”.

There’s people who say “full spectrum like the sun” which is 100 CRI (about 2500K), but then in the same breath talk about a halide that’s geared towards 10k or 6500K.

So don’t fall in love with the word “full spectrum”, and instead just think about what parts of the spectrum you want to prioritize/utilize in your setup.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

White lights with emphasis on temperature color (I don't have the smarts to explain it). For example metal halides are white light full spectrum defined by the kelvin reading 6500k, 14k, 20k bulbs for example.

 

[Joe462]

to me anything that has both white and blue lights on is full spectrum, its a wide range of lighting "temperature" or whatever its called. to me the only thing excluded from "full spectrum" is all whites or all blues. so as Randy said, it means different things to different people.

 

[buruskeee]

metal halides are white light full spectrum defined by the kelvin reading 6500k, 14k, 20k bulbs for example.

How can all those spectrums/color temps be full spectrum when they each represent a different spectrum?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

How can all those spectrums/color temps be full spectrum when they each represent a different spectrum?

I'm, not going to defend the use of a vague term by different hobbyists, but one can certainly have full spectrum lighting of 6500k, 10,000k, and 20,000k color temps.

All you need is that the spectrum actually have all wavelengths at the right intensity for a black body at that temperature. Stars with that color temp would be examples.

 

[fish_collector]

Full spectrum as related to reef lighting would be everything from about 380nm (ultraviolet, the purple end) upwards to just shy of 800nm (infrared, the red end). From what I remember it's about 10,000k. So technically no, some white and blue lights wouldn't necessarily be full spectrum. LEDs have a very narrow band of wavelength, that's why the high end lights have so many different colored LEDs in them. Metal Halides came much closer to full spectrum because of the mix of gases inside the arc tube, it was a single point light source which is why the shimmer was so great with them.

Our reef tanks look much different with full spectrum lighting but coral growth is increased, algae too!

I have viparspectra lights on my frag tank with a mix of various blues and whites, its far from full spectrum when they are both on in equal intensities, the Reefi lights on my display tank comes much closer to a daylight color when they are all on. It's what's pleasing to your eyes that matters. It seems lately there has been a trend to include colors towards the infrared end of the spectrum to balance it out, it is actually way more natural looking but not what most find visually appealing. 20k radiums used to be the light of choice but to me personally I always preferred 12k to 14k, the Phoenix 14k mogul base MH was the perfect light in my opinion.

It's an interesting topic for sure, Telegraham has done some extensive studies with lights if you search for them.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Example:

https://webbtelescope.org/contents/media/images/01F8GF8WYBCQVKTGPX3MA58182

 

[Dorsetsteve]

It’s a hobby/marketing term for the most part. No lamp is going to be truthfully full spectrum. A cluster of LEDs of a gas filled glass tube isn’t either. Some will have broader spectrums that are closer to daylight but it’s mostly a phrase of no concrete meaning.

 

[HudsonReefer2.0]

This exactly. And for the most part, folks who use the phrase “full spectrum” often don’t know what they’re trying to convey.

In WWC’s lighting tutorial, for example, they say they use “full spectrum” for half the day and then blues the rest of the day - what they’re actually saying is they’re using 100% all channels of their Radion Blues, which is like a 14K spectrum and not “100 CRI”.

There’s people who say “full spectrum like the sun” which is 100 CRI (about 2500K), but then in the same breath talk about a halide that’s geared towards 10k or 6500K.

So don’t fall in love with the word “full spectrum”, and instead just think about what parts of the spectrum you want to prioritize/utilize in your setup.

AB 10k, Ushio, Iwasaki, some lamps that come to mind from MH days. Loved all the spectral analysis by @sanjay. Ty Dr.

 

[bkwonnn]

Check out the lighting part of this presentation for a good summary.



This video is also very interesting and goes into the subject much deeper.

 

[fish_collector]

It’s a hobby/marketing term for the most part. No lamp is going to be truthfully full spectrum. A cluster of LEDs of a gas filled glass tube isn’t either. Some will have broader spectrums that are closer to daylight but it’s mostly a phrase of no concrete meaning.

I mostly agree with this. Personally I think it's fairly obvious what is meant by the term "full spectrum", whether or not a particular light produces that is questionable. For hobbyists and what we do, nearly any light on the market will satisfy the meaning. If you really wanted to be scientific about it (and I don't think we need to take it that far) a reef illuminated by solartubes is going to be full spectrum lol.

 

[reefchi]

thanks for the replies on this topic. I been researching this to better understand it since I’m currently planning out a tank build solely focusing on a Ritteri/ magnifica anemone.

One of its requirements is that it prefers a full spectrum lighting. That’s what I’m trying to figure out how to accomplish as I prepare for it. So I been on this path of understanding the term.

Also after being in the hobby for a few years now, I do like white light instead of the bluer side.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

thanks for the replies on this topic. I been researching this to better understand it since I’m currently planning out a tank build solely focusing on a Ritteri/ magnifica anemone.

One of its requirements is that it prefers a full spectrum lighting. That’s what I’m trying to figure out how to accomplish as I prepare for it. So I been on this path of understanding the term.

Also after being in the hobby for a few years now, I do like white light instead of the bluer side.

That specific issue means not the heavy blue only of deep water, but more like what you see snorkeling.

 

[Reefing102]

I agree with Randy. Full spectrum varies based on one’s opinion. For me it’s definitely towards the whiter end (visually) however has enough of each spectrum for a good visual balance.

That said, I also agree with Randy based on my limited knowledge of Ritteri anemones. Full spectrum for them generally means a whiter but also usually more powerful light.

 

[buruskeee]

I'm, not going to defend the use of a vague term by different hobbyists, but one can certainly have full spectrum lighting of 6500k, 10,000k, and 20,000k color temps.

All you need is that the spectrum actually have all wavelengths at the right intensity for a black body at that temperature. Stars with that color temp would be examples.

I’m not understanding your argument. Is the argument that as long as there’s every wavelength presented in the visible spectrum, it’s full spectrum? In that case, unless there is a complete filter of a certain wavelength, almost every light currently being used in reefing is full spectrum, as there is a measureable amount of photons over every single wavelength between the visible area. This is definitely true.

I think we agree though, the term is used way too vaguely for even the typical user of the term to really know what they’re trying to convey.